The Literary Life Podcast

By Angelina Stanford Thomas Banks

Not just book chat! The Literary Life Podcast is an ongoing conversation about the skill and art of reading well and the lost intellectual tradition needed to fully enter into the great works of liter... more

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How many episodes does The Literary Life Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 345 episodes available.

Best of The Literary Life Podcast

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Episode 343: Watership Down by Richard Adams, Ch. 31-40
Today's episode of The Literary Life is part 4 of our series on Richard Adams' Watership Down. Angelina and Thomas discuss chapters 31-40 this week, starting with some thoughts on the conventions of literature in different literary periods. Thomas also makes a note that although this book mirrors many aspects of The Aeneid, readers ought not expect to find exact correspondence between the characters and plot points in the two stories. They talk about the depth and weight of this story due to its connections with mythology and the literary tradition. Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, and sign up for the newsletter to stay up to date on all the upcoming new autumn classes and webinars. To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/343.
August 25, 202657min
Number 2: Episode 339: Ask Us (Almost) Anything
This week on The Literary Life Podcast, our hosts Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks return from their summer break with a fun "Ask Us (Almost) Anything" episode. The questions they answer include the following: How does Mr. Banks choose the poem for the end of each episode? How do they go about finding sources of good secondary research or literary criticism? How did Angelina first learn about alchemy in the literary tradition? Is Mr. Banks any relation to the sculptor Thomas Banks? Can you give a brief definition of each of the building blocks of stories? What exactly is the "objective correlative"? Is re-reading important in the literary life and, if so, what makes it profitable? How do you keep up with the many images when reading? How should an author approach trying to write in the literary tradition? How do you deal with reading slumps? What is your favorite book? How do you defend an education in the humanities in an age obsessed with STEM? How many books do you own? Does Angelina actually hate John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress? And more…. Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com to stay up to date on all the upcoming new summer classes and webinars. View the full show notes for this episode, including quotes, book links, and this week's poem at https://theliterary.life/339.
July 28, 20261h 49min
Number 3: Episode 342: Watership Down by Richard Adams, Ch. 21-30
On The Literary Life Podcast this week, Angelina and Thomas continue their series on Richard Adams' Watership Down, covering chapters 21-30 in this episode. Angelina opens the discussion with some thoughts on the importance of the structure of a story in view of the literary tradition inspired by her commonplace quote for today. Once again, in these chapters we see echoes from mythology and beast fables, including references to the "and-then" story structure, the Sabine women, the rabbit as trickster, testing of the leader, and so much more! Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com to stay up to date on all the upcoming new autumn classes and webinars. And to see the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/342.
August 18, 20261h 1min
Number 4: Episode 340: Watership Down by Richard Adams, Introduction, Ch. 1-10
Welcome back to The Literary Life Podcast and a new book discussion series! This month, Angelina and Thomas will be covering Richard Adams' Watership Down. Beginning of their commonplace quotes, they talk about the background of this book and what type of story this is, as well as how Angelina is approaching this first read. Thomas gives some biographical information on Richard Adams, including the publishing challenges facing Adams. Angelina highlights the epigraphs beginning each chapter and their significance. Some of the other topics Thomas and Angelina share their thoughts about include the classical references in these chapters, the allegory of the journey of the soul, and the archetypes and obstacles that we may see in the rest of the book. Join us again next week for chapters 11-21! Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com to stay up to date on all the upcoming new summer classes and webinars. To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/340.
August 04, 20261h 26min
Number 5: Episode 345: "Best of" Series – The Literary Life of Addison and Ella Hornstra (Ep. 182)
On The Literary Life podcast today, we bring you a replay of a chat that Angelina, Cindy, and Thomas had with twin sisters Addison and Ella Hornstra. Together they have been given a literary home education. Angelina introduces the Hornstra ladies and she and Thomas tell a little bit about having them as students. Cindy also shares how she met the Hornstra family. Then they dig into the girls' reading journeys from the beginning of their learning to read all the way to their current reading lives. Some of the topics that come up in this conversation are: reading content beyond your understanding, owning your reading life, the problem with using the wrong approach to literature, the dangers of modern education for uniquely gifted students, the power of just reading well, and so much more. Join us back here next week when Addison and Ella will return with an update on their literary lives and the ways that their educational path changed after this original episode was recorded. If you want to get the replays of the 2023 Back to School Conference mentioned in this episode, please visit MorningTimeforMoms.com. To view the full show notes for this episode, you can see them at https://theliterary.life/345.
September 08, 20261h 53min